THE EAILWAT RETURNS.

Evening Post, Volume XXI, Issue 70, 25 March 1881, Page 2

THE EAILWAT RETURNS.

, The railway returns up to the sth ult. are now published, and continue of a satisfactory character. The total receipts for the last four-weekly period were whioh is much about the same as the previous month, while the proportionate expenditure has decreased from 64 to 63 per oent. The total receipts during the current financial year up to the sth ult. were .£690,549, and the expenditure In the North Island the working expenses on 413 miles of line absorbed 72 per cent, of the receipts, and in the South Island (845 miles) 61 per cent. On the Amberley-Kingston main trunk line (788 miles) the receipts to sth February were at the rate of J2802 per mile per annum, of which the expenses absorbed 61 per cent. On the Wellington-Maeterton line (69 miles) the receipts to bth 'February were i>6oß per mile, and the expenditure 83 per oent., these latter thus showing a steady decrease. The passengers Orf'the Wellington railway numbered 23,660, a 6 compared with 19,381 for the corresponding period of last year ; and the receipts^ *fos freight on goods amounted to £125& as against ,£1133. The Amberley-Kingston, Auckland, and Wanganui sections all show a falling off in passenger traffic, but an increase in goods. The Wellington and Napier sections have an increase in both classes. The Whangarei and Greymouth mineral lines, as usual, give good results, having only 54 and 46 respectively of working- exp'erisea. The "political" railways and branches give their accustomed unfavorable results, their percentages of expenses being as follow : — Westport, 106 ; Eyreton, 126 ; Waimate, 111 ; Walton Park, 104 ; Outram, 120 ; and Lawrence, 107 per cent.

His Excellency Sir Arthur Gordon and suite returned from ihe South per Hinemoa this morning. Messrs. Money Wigram's steamer Norfolk arrived at Lyttelton this morning, from London, making a capital run of 52 days, the shortest but one on record from England to New Zealand. The Norfolk's passage has only been beaten by that of the Mongol, which came out in 49 days. She comes, under charter to Messrs. Shaw, Savill and Co., will proceed from Lyttelton to Wellington, going hence to Sydney after discharging her inward cargo. Prom Sydney she will go to China. The whole of the evidence in connection with the Asylum enquiry is now oonoluded, and with the exception of thi3 afternoon's sitting for the purpose of hearing the final addresses of the complainant and Mr. Edwards, the only remaining duties of the Commissioners are to pay a visit of inspection to the Asylum, and forward their report to his Excellency the Governor. Out of 13 witnesses subpoenaed to tender evidence in rebuttal of the case made out for the defence, four were rejected, the evidence which it was proposed to elicit from them being ruled to be inadmissible. The witnesses called, but not examined, were— Caroline Hanson, an ex-attendant ; Bhoda Campion, whose son was stated to be an inmate of the institution; Allan Muir, carpenter; and, George Carter, who was called with a view of corroborating Mr. Blaokmore's acoount of the alleged ill-treatment of female lunatics, regarding whioh an enquiry was held some time ago by Dr. Skae. Mrs. Kettle, who was recalled, repeatedly denied having entered into any arrangement with Misa Brigdon, whereby the latter was to receive half of her salary ; and Mr. E. Evans was examined, as an expert, with respect to the use of restraint at the Colney Hatch Asylum, it having been stated by Dr. Skae that camisoles were used in that institution in Dr. Sheppard'B time. In view of the threatened water famine, the City Council last night resolved to cut off the supply of water to lifts and livery stables. Numerous applications are being received, from day to day for space at the approaching " Wellington Local Industry Exhibition,"' and the committee of management are exerting themselves, both individually and collectively, to make the exhibition as successful as possible. In addition to the display of local manufactures and productions, there will be a loan exhibition of works of art, the latter department being placed nnder the charge of Mr. N. Barraud. At present it is purposed to hold the exhibition in the Athenaanm Buildings, commencing on the 23rd May, and ending on the 28th of that month; but should there prove to be a greater number of exhibits than can be accommodated at the Athenaeum, arrangements will be made for holding the exhibition in more commodious premises. The Dunedin Industrial Exhibition will not be held until June next, so that exhibitors at the Wellington Exposition will have an opportunity of placing their goods for inspection at both places. The works in connection with, the Wainui-o-mati water supply are progressing satisfactorily. The big tunnel iB now in eight chains. The pipe-laying from the Cricket Ground to the Government Buildings < ia finished, and the new mains are connected with toe Polhill Gully supply. • The only atreet in which pipes have nowjto be laid are those lying between the Cricket Ground and John-street in Te Ax*r*ad Tinakori Boad, Molesworth-sfcreet/and Thermion Quay from Pipitea Point. "" We understand that no commission will be appointed relative to the Christehuroh Lunatic Asylum, owing to the absence of the Superintendent, Mr. Seager, from the colony, it being only his management that is iffected by the charges made in the petition to hia Excellency the Governor, previously referred to. No complaint is made against bhe conduct of the asylum under its present head, and the complaints relate solely to occurrences during Mr. Seager' s tenure of office. Obviously it would be unfair to try tiim in his absence, and unless he returns it 8 not likely that much more will be heard of she matter.

A deputation, consisting of Messrs. W. R. £E. Brown, Hichardson } J. E. Smith, C. A. feakei?, J. E. Baker, and Jamea Brown, waited on the City Council last night to present the petition which was published in the Evening Post last night, calliHg attend tion to the prevalence of houses of ilUfame in'the city. The d*§rjuiafcidn #as accompanied by Betetitire Benjamin, who, it was stated, was prepared to give information as to the working of the Contagious Diseases A£tin Chrißtohuro^. Miv O: A; Biker hiring spoken kL support or th 6 petition, Mr. W. R. E. Brown also made a few remarks, particularly dwelling on the injury to the moral and physical welfare of the rising generation under the present Bystem. Mr. James Brown said that he had some property in Holland-street, and at one time 14 houses out of the 20 in the street were occupied bypersons of bad character. The language used was something awf nl. Detective Benjamin was about to state what was done in Christchdrch, when the Mayor stopped him, and said that it was unnecessary, as the Council had no power to do anything in the matter, ' although he was sure they fully stf mp&thised with the views of the deputation. It was the Government alone who liad the power to bring the district witniiL the Operation of the Act referred to. He did not believe; however, that the Act wonld achieve, the object aim&i at By the deputation* Mr. C. A. Baker explained that he and Mr. ;W.; W. R. E. Brown waited on the Colonial Secretary, who suggested that they should see the Council, adding that the Government would not like to act in the matter except upon the recommendation of the City Council. Councillor Allen said he could endorse the remarks of the deputation, for he, unfortunately, lived in the neighbor^ hood of a nest of pollution of a character hardly to be credited. He pointed out that some years ago the Council asked the Government to bring tho Act into operation, but their request was not attended to. He moved that the petition be considered in committee of the whole Connoil on Monday evening. This was seconded by Councillor Danks and carried. The new engine of Class D, recently imported - from England and erected at the Petoni workshops, has commenced regular work on the railway, and takes its turn on the' Masterton train as far as Upper Hutt. The engine, like the three others of its class already at work on the Wellington line, is built by Neilson and Co., of Glasgow, and has a leading Bissell-bogie, four coupled drivers, 36in diameter and QJin cylinders, with 18in stroke, but has improved safety valves in the dome, and the funnel is fitted with a spark-arrester, constructed at the Petoni workshops from a design of Mr. Ashcroft's, which appears to answer very well. It is noteworthy that all the engines which take the Masterton "through" trains (excepting those on the Fell incline) are now supplied with spark-arresters, viz., the new Class D engine which runs between Wellington and Upper Hutt, the single-Fairlie which works between Upper Hutt and the Summit, and the other single-Fairlie which takes the train between Cross Creek and Masterton. This should materially lessen the danger of fires being caused by sparks from the engines. Mr. Wilson and two other residents of Newtown waited upon the City Council last night to urge that section No. 4 in the Newtown Avenue would be preferable, as a site for the hose-reel station, to that selected by the Council. The cost, it was said, would be £66, as compared with £45, the cost of that already selected, but no excavation would be required, thus making the real cost in each case about equal. The Mayor said the petition should receive consideration, but the Town Clerk stated that -the Council's intention to purchase the site first chosen had already been intimated to the Equitable Building Society. A meeting of the provisional directors of the Wcllington-Manawatu Railway Company is convened at the Chamber of Commerce for Monday next, at 3 p.m., to consider important business. By Gazette published yesterday, the Government notify that they are prepared .to receive proposals from any person willing to establish a factory for the manufacture of blasting and sporting powder, the proposer to state what amount of bonus he would require to induce him to undertake the manufacture. The Government are to approve the place where the factory is to be erected, and also the plans and specifications of the building. All the internal fittings, and the arrangements for carrying on the manufacture of the gunpowder are to be subject to the inspection of an officer appointed by the Government. Councillor Maginnity last night complained that the £3 voted to the cabman. Carter, as compensation in connection with the collision case, had not been paid to him The Town Clerk said he could not pay it over, as Councillor Danks had given notice of his intention to . move that the motion be rescinded. The Mayor endorsed the action of the Clerk in the matter, although he characterised these motions to rescind as very inconvenient. It -was oxplained that Councillor Danks' motion would come, up for discussion at the next meeting of the Counoil. We have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the Melbourne Industrial Exhibition Official Catalogue, which has been courteously forwarded to us by the Commissioners. It appears to be very ably compiled, and to contain a large amount of useiul and interesting information. The Colonial Secretary intimates that, in addition to the bonuses for manufactures notified in the Gazette of the 17th February last, a bonus of £500 will be given for three years in succession for the refining, each year, by machinery established in New Zealand, of not less than one hundred tons of cane sugar. The establishment by which such refining is effected must be what is ordinarily known as a sugar-refinery. The firm refining the first one hundred tons of sugar, and receiving the bonus, shall be also entitled to the bonus of the two following years upon fulfilling all conditions. A letter was read from Miss Sutherland, late matron of the Hospital, at the meeting of the City Council, contending that the charges made against her at the late inquiry entirely broke down. She therefore requested the Hospital Committee to state what they had to say against her, remarking that if they would not do this, she " would have to wait till Parliament met." (A laugh.) No action was taken upon the letter. Mr. Thomas Bracken's lecture at the Academy of Music last night attracted a much smaller audience then its merits deserved. The subject was " A Night with Lover," and it was dealt with in a masterly manner. Mr. Braoken succeeded in keeping up the interest of his audience from beginning to end, and his efforts were frequently rewarded by enthusiastic applause. The proceeds will be devoted to the library and general funds of the Working Men's Club. A reminder is given of the entertainment by the Te Aro Jnvenile Minstrels, which takes place in the Foresters' Hall, Torystreet, this evening. The proceeds will be devoted to St. Peter's Choir Fund. Some burning gorse in Tasman- street created an alarm yesterday evening, and the bells rang out vigorously for a time. No damage whatever was done. At the fortnightly meeting of the Gardeners' Mutual Improvement Society, held last night, a paper was read, "on the formation of lawns, eradication of weeds, and manuring of grass," and an interesting discussion followed. "X " writes to us as follows ;—"lt; — "It may be observed that an experiment of a curious character is going on with regard to the trees in the Adelaide Road. Those sonversant with the practice of arboriculture have hitherto considered that to bury a tree beyond its collar, or the line of juncture between the roots and the stem, is likely to be dangerous to the health, and perhaps to the life of the tree. Some, no doubt, wellmeaning persona have buried the stems of the Adelaide Road trees under cones of earth and day. It may be suggested that this experiment is dangerous and uncalled for, and that the earth should be removed with all practicable SDeed^ The Wellington Guards met for drill last night, and were pnt through a variety of movements, including guard-mounting exercise and sentry duty. It was announced that special parades would be held between this and Easter in view of the coming encampment at Nelson. A cricket match will be played at Karori to-morrow (Saturday) afternoon between the Rising Star (second eleven) and the Karori Cricket Clubs. The following team will represent the Stars, viz. : — Helyer, Widdop, Tustin, Turner, Richards, Remington, Beck, Reeve, Danks, Dixon, and Grevule ; scorer, J. W. Kilner ; umpire, C. H. Mauaill. The team will leave Mr. Tustin's shop, WillisBtreet, at 1 o'clock Bharp, by wagonette. The concert given by Mr. Sidney Wolf, R.A.M., at the Athenaenm Hall last night passed off with great Mat, the hall being crowded in every part, and the audience moat enthusiastic Pressure on our space precludes any detailed criticism, and it must Buffioe to Bay that a number of well-known Wellington favorites contributed very ably to an excellent programme, and nearly every item was voiciferously encored. A special word of praise is due to a young lady pupil of Mr. Wolf's, who played two pianoforte duets with him, and also Bang an air from " Mali tana," acquitting herself very creditably in both respects. Mr. Wolf accompanied efficiently throughout. We have received some samples of syrups from Mr. J. Monteith, of the Medical Hall, Manners-street. There are three kinds — raspberry, lemon, and lime juice. They form very palatable beverages when mixed with water, and doubtless will be in large demand while the present worm, dry weather lasts.

There Were no criminal cases for disposal at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning. Mr. Shaw, R.M., however, presided over a sitting of the Court in civil jurisdiction, and a report of the proc"edings appears in another column. ite'nry Davis, seaman, was arrested this afternoon on a charge of neglecting to obey an order of the Court to contribute towards the eup'port of Mi children at tne Bnrnham Industrial School, and brought before Mr. Shaw, 81., who formally remanded Mm until to-morrow. The Waste Lands Board met yesterday, when the- chairman read a copy of a letter from 51 inhabitants of Otaki, requesting that an area of about 5000 acres out of the ITukutanaki Block might be get aside for selection on deferred payment. It was resolved that the CMef Snrvejor be requested to prepare a map of the land referred to, indicating the position of the native road and its connection with the road passing through Otaki ; also to submit a scheme of sections^ accompanied by a report on the general character of the soil,; and timber. The" date for throwing opeil the unsold sections in the Kairanga and PnMatua districts Was , altered , from the 18th April (Easter Monday) to the 19th ,of that month. THe Schedule .8f land sold since last nieeting was presented,' and showed that 1026 acres had been applied for at, the upset price of J>lo2B 10s 6d, and that 28520 14s 7d had been paid on account. A letter from " One of the Committee," in reference to the Basin Reserve " scene, is unavoidably held over till to-morrow. Mr. J. R. Gill, of Wellington, restaurateur, has this day filed a declaration that he is unable to meet Ma engagements with his creditors. During the past quarter Wanganui has excelled Wellington in the matter of crime, as there are thirteen cases Bet down for hearing at the April sessions there, while Wellington only shows a list of four. A somewhat extraordinary "nieeting" of creditors was held to-day at the Supreme Court House. Richard Leman was the debtor, and his statement of liabilities and assets showed that he only had two oreditors in the world, to whom he owed collectively 10s Bid, wMle his assets were valued at JBIS. The largest creditor resides in Dunedin, and*bad a claim of £9 against the debtor ; the other creditor is a Wellington resident, who was admitted to be entitled to the receipt o£ .£3 10a BJd. At the hour fixed for the meeting, the debtor and this solitary creditor were the only persons present, and they at once sat down, one at each end of the table, and silently -eyed each other while they awaited the arrival of the principal creditor from Dunedin, probably by telegraph. In this position the Deputy Registrar still found them sitting nearly one hour later, the Dunedin man not yet having been "wired" up. Words were few, .but the eyes of both parties were eloquent to the last degree. At length the creditor gave up in despair, and left the debtor for the time being the victor. The latter then triumphantly remarked that he had "sat that creditor out," and went away rejoicing. Mr. R. J. Duncan sold by auction yesterday at the South British Forwarding Company's premises several parcels of land. The whole were, with one exception, sold without reserve, being an asset in an insolvent estate, and had been held by the trustee for nearly two years in the hope of better times. Woodville sections, bought by Mr. W. T. L. Travers, J66 10s each; Petoni, 2 lota, bought by Mr. Little John, .£5 each J 1 by Mr. Campion for and 2 by Messrs. Bennett for £13. Carnarvon sections were bought by Mr. Henry Moss for 35s each ; Palmerston section bought by Mr. Greenfield for £5. 12 sections Midhurst East realised 35s each only. An allotment in Bulltown was sold for 10s, and 2 sections at Beaconsfield went for 20s each. There was a good attendance at the sale. The auctioneer predicted that from the enormous accumulation of capital lying at present in the banks a speedy change from the late and present stagnation in trade, and undne depreciation of real property, to that of more prosperous and healthier state of things would be sure to take place. Mr. R. W. Cary will introduce to the theatre-going publio to-night his Baby Pinafore Company, and the novelty is almost sure to attract a large audience. Mr. Cary has spent a great deal of time in training the juveniles, and they have been brought up to a fair stage of perfection. Some of the youngsters are said to possess excellent yoicea, and show great intelligence and skill in the performance of their parts. There will be an afternoon performance to-morrow. We are requested to remind our readers that the first field excursion of the Wellington Field Naturalists' Club will take place to-morrow, members to meet on the Kaiwarra Bridge at 2.30 p.m., for the purpose of exploring the Kaiwarra Glen. This gully, though now well known, and in some parts almost Btripped of bUsh, still presents many interesting features, and some of the prettiest bits of bush scenery to be found within some miles radius of Wellington may be viewed from the bed of the stream. Yesterday afternoon Mr. Kember, of the United Insurance Office, proceeded to Featherston on behalf of the various inBnrance company a to report on the fire wMch took place there yesterday. The Star of Wellington Lodge held its weekly session last evening, at the Athenasum. The election for District Deputy was proceeded with, but the result of the ballot will not be known for a week, because the returns of the election will have to be sent in from the various lodges. It was announced that a fraternal visit to the Rescue Lodge will take place next Tuesday evening. The Wellington and Bohemian Cricket Clnbs will play a match on the Basin Reserve to-morrow, play to commence at 2 o'clock sharp. The Bohemians are — Missis. Blacklook, Luxford, Russell, M'Dermott, Haughton, Speed, Salmon, Willis, Godden, Northcroft, Tarleton ; emergencies — Woodman and Barnett. The return cricket match between the Naval Brigade and the Engineers took place at the Basin Reserve yesterday afternoon, resulting in a viotoiy for the Engineers by 61 runs, the scores being as follows :—: — Ist innings — Navals, 40 ; Engineers, 101 ; 2nd innings — Navals, 98 ; thuß leaving the Engineers 39 to win, but time not permitting the team to go in again, the match was decided by the first innings. The chief features of the match were the innings of Wylie and Sunley of the Engineers, who played r first-class cricket for 36 and 34 respectively, this being especially noteworthy as they had to do all the bowling for their side. For the Navals, Davis showed good batting form, but was unlucky in the first innings ; in the second he made 16. R. Davis played flukily for 45, but should have been caught early in the innings. C. France, with 13, was the, only other member of the Navals who got into double figures. The fielding of both teams was very loose, but this was mainly due to the bad nature of the ground. For the Engineers, Crowther, as longstop, deserves special notice, making three most difficult one-handed catches. Gannaway also did good service, making three splendid catches at point. For the Navals, Hoggard, as longstop, and Redding at the wickets, acquitted themselves most creditably. Attention is drawn to Mr. G. Themas' sale of prime old oats, to be sold on the Queen's Wharf to-morrow, at 11 o'clock Bharp. Messrs. T. Kennedy Macdonald & Co.'s clearing sale of furniture yesterday was very largely attended and the bidding throughout spirited. As Mr. Macdonald was unable to complete his catalogue, the sale will be con tinned to-morrow, at 1 o'clook. Electrical in its effect, accepted in its strictest sense, and applied to any remedial agent, is rather a prejudicial qualification. Common sense repudiates the idea of a cure that is instantaneous, and electricity is a momentary flash. Comparatively speaking, it may be used with proprietary, and in this sense it is introduced in connection with Udolpho Wolfe's Schiedam Abomatic Schnapps, wMch perfoi ms its various offices with remarkable promptitude. — rADVT.I